dB meters at clubs?

[Mike Caldwell]

In addition to the already mentioned db scale weighting and having a consistent point to measure from the background noise floor level can be a factor as in if the band stops playing and the level is still 98db.

I did an event for about 5 five years providing foreground music with a distributed system over the concourse area outside at a school with random announcements, the music level was barely what I would call foreground. About the 2nd year I notice a guy walking toward the paging area like he was on a mission carrying what looked like a sound level meter. He gets to the table complaining the music measures something like 95db over there as he points
way across the street to a street corner.
I ask him what he measures right here in the area, he looks at the meter, does couple things, gets a funny look on his face, says something about it being much lower here.
I go walk with him to the street corner, I can hear the music in the far background, the meter shows about what he said, I said keep the meter on this song is about to end, song ends meter never changes, I told him he's just measuring the street level back ground. That guy was also a professor at said school.

 

[Bonecat]

Several of the places we play regularly have stated limits, often spelled out in their contracts. We run a semi-silent stage (acoustic drums, but a disciplined drummer) and IEMs. We generally aim for 95 peak dB at the edge of the dance floor and it’s usually perfect. We’re also good about checking with the venue staff during sound check and performances just to be sure they’re happy. We work for them, after all, and we like to be asked back… One place has publicly banned some local bands for not respecting their requirements. Ouch…

 

[TBallz]

Not 100% on topic...I did sound for a tent show pre covid. Client was a local brewery. Tent was about 120 feet by 40 or 50, blocking the street outside to the east of the brewery. Adjoing wall to the west of the brewery is a local cinema. 5 acts, 12 to 10 pm.

Headliner was The Supersuckers. Their backline request was a JCM800 and 4x10 and an SVT. First thing the bass player/lead singer did was ro duct tape an MCR DI Preamp to the SVT and insist I use it. Gibson LP bass. The most god awful tone ever. Assault with deadly mid range...

These idiots were mso freaking loud that the brewery had to refund the movie goers tickets... GM cme up and complained about the volume. I had him look at the caredully labeled board. All sliders down except for the lead vocal mic and a smidge of kick... I still got the look of can't you do something? I got paid but lost the client...

Client had the band back to play inside the brewery. They cleared rhe place... Met the GM on the street a month later after the inside job. He apologized... 'Now I get it...' Client stopped doing the tent show event, stopped hiring cowboy punk bands and migrated to acoustic.

Full circle... Even with just vocals and a bit of kick, 114 at the back of the tent, well over 80' away. Hearing protection at the board and light console. That was using Super Six Digital off my iPhone. I forget which rating... It was hardly germin as too freaking loud is still too freaking loud.

One lovely tune I recall was "I'm going to hang myself and masturbate till I die" - this was just after a notable actor did himself in, in Thailand... Oh the fun we can have in live sound...

I’m sorry but I kinda like this band. That said, whomever booked them was foolish for not knowing what they were getting into.

 

[4Mal]

@TBallz another time and place and role for me and I might to. Back in the 70's I played and went to see a whole lotta punk.

 

[Passinwind]

Not 100% on topic...I did sound for a tent show pre covid. Client was a local brewery. Tent was about 120 feet by 40 or 50, blocking the street outside to the east of the brewery. Adjoing wall to the west of the brewery is a local cinema. 5 acts, 12 to 10 pm.

Headliner was The Supersuckers. Their backline request was a JCM800 and 4x10 and an SVT. First thing the bass player/lead singer did was ro duct tape an MCR DI Preamp to the SVT and insist I use it. Gibson LP bass. The most god awful tone ever. Assault with deadly mid range...

These idiots were mso freaking loud that the brewery had to refund the movie goers tickets... GM cme up and complained about the volume. I had him look at the caredully labeled board. All sliders down except for the lead vocal mic and a smidge of kick... I still got the look of can't you do something? I got paid but lost the client...

Client had the band back to play inside the brewery. They cleared rhe place... Met the GM on the street a month later after the inside job. He apologized... 'Now I get it...' Client stopped doing the tent show event, stopped hiring cowboy punk bands and migrated to acoustic.

Full circle... Even with just vocals and a bit of kick, 114 at the back of the tent, well over 80' away. Hearing protection at the board and light console. That was using Super Six Digital off my iPhone. I forget which rating... It was hardly germin as too freaking loud is still too freaking loud.

One lovely tune I recall was "I'm going to hang myself and masturbate till I die" - this was just after a notable actor did himself in, in Thailand... Oh the fun we can have in live sound...

I think I made it to the second tune, but maybe not even. Every one of those tent shows I attended was completely out of hand by my standards, and it’s not like the joint I mixed in up the street was all that rational.

 

[jdjk7]

I've seen them in bars and clubs with.. shall we say challenging noise ordinances.

 

[DWA2469]

Definitely a last 5 years thing. It's not prevalent, but it happens. DB meter mounted facing the band. And some amount they want you to stay at or below.

In some bands it's not a problem. But if you have a hard hitting drummer, and play rock, punk or metal-it's a problem.

We have incorporated a drum shield, and it has helped a bunch!

 

[Low Down Brown]

In the 90s, I built a system that resulted in essentially a silent stage. We used E-drums and ran ampless with IEMs. After implementing the system, we could deliver a concert at a really low SPL. As a result, we started getting significantly more performance requests.

IME, it is common for pro musicians to say something like, "Live music has to be loud and the audience simply has to accept and deal with it." IMHO this may serve some musician's performance ideals, but it does not always serve the audience's needs.

IMHO most musicians are more like service providers than artists. In order to better meet their customer's needs, they should figure out how to keep the SPL reasonably low. If the audience wants it loud, then by all means crank it up. But IME, many audiences prefer performances with fairly modest volume levels

This sums up my experience too. About 20 years ago I was in a jazz group that played Jazz Manouche and standards, but also dinner music. We marketed ourselves as wallpaper for dinner parties, art galleries showings, and other various events. We stayed busy enough I was able to quit my other job and play music full time and almost every person thay hired and rehired us said one of the main reasons was that we were able to be background music when we needed to but also able to bring the levels up for party time when that time came. People were able to enjoy the music but also talk comfortably without screaming at each other.

I have heard of the dB meters in use at some places, but have yet to experience that myself. I know I've been to more than a few local shows where I wish their use had been implemented and enforced already.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

I'm trying to find a dedicated dB meter I can take with me to monitor SPL at gigs etc. Any thoughts?

Is this one any good?

Ohr-1 Decibel Meter

Ohr-1: The decibel Meter built for musicians. Precision engineering and high-accuracy monitoring in the palm of your hand. Designed for everyday, continuous use wherever may you take it. The Ohr-1 continuously monitors the sound level in a space, and uses a multi-colour display to alert you when...

www.ohrlabs.com

So far I'm only finding reviews, or any mentions of the OHR-1 at all, on Facebook and TikTok, which doesn't seem like a great sign.

"Pro" level dB meters (from safety supply or audio specialist vendors et al) can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. While I'm willing to spend a considerable sum to protect my hearing, I'm not sure I can justify a $1000+ dB meter for personal use.

I tried a ~$30 decibel meter off Amazon, but it was garbage. It read anywhere from 5-15 dB(A) too high, comparing it to a calibrated mic (Dayton Audio iMM-6) used with an appropriate app (Audio Tool, which can ingest the mic's calibration file, thus giving a meaningful reading) on a smartphone.

One clue was, the cheap dB meter would hover around 50 dB(A) in a very quiet room. That's just now how that works. Another: It was often reading ~100 dB(A) at band rehearsals.

There are only 3 of us. While the drummer and guitar player/vocalist do like things louder than I prefer, that's why I wear hearing protection every time. If we were actually operating well over 90 dB(A), as the cheap dB meter says, those guys should be suffering permanent hearing damage and tinnitus by now.

More likely we're hanging out in the 80-85 dB(A) range, with occasional excursions to 90-ish. The smartphone setup mentioned backs this up.

I already wear earplugs at all our practices. Not going to re-tell my life story here, but I got hearing damage from playing in an "acoustic only" environment that "should have" been safe, and did not seem too loud at the time, over a year ago. I've been even more paranoid about preventing further damage (and worsening the tinnitus), ever since.

By "earplugs" I mean either Alpine Musicsafe Pro with either the -19 db or -22 dB filters installed, or Hearos Rock'n'Roll (rated at -27 dB NRR). The latter are triple-flanged, silicone plugs, the former double-flanged. I would wear 29+ dB NRR foamies if I could get away with it, but then I can't really hear myself playing. The flanged silicone seems to do a good job of turning down the volume, without killing all perception of how the music sounds.

So far (fingers crossed) my tinnitus hasn't gotten any worse. I'd like to keep it that way.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

One lovely tune I recall was "I'm going to hang myself and masturbate till I die"

Hey, who gave you a copy of our setlist?

 

[fokof]

At work , the PA doesn't deliver more than 105dbA @ FOH , so no need for a meter

I personaly still have/use my old Radio Shack meter
They were the best !

The iOS app Sounmeter X is very good

 

[5StringBlues]

A little bar and grill l do a blues jam at recently installed a db meter and asked that we keep it below 100 db.


I'm all for it , as we basically play to a dinner crowd, and I got tired of having to be the bad guy when our front man or a jammer got out of hand.


Made my life easier!

 

[Deleted member 409896]

Found enough evidence that the Ohr Labs product (OHR-1) might be decent, that I took a chance on one.

It won't be here for a while, since it's coming from the UK. On your first order, they give a discount code, so the true price isn't the listed $125. Almost cancels out import duty (yuck), and the international shipping charge is pretty reasonable (~$17). Total about US$140. Way better than $2000+ for a "pro" grade dB meter, and likely to be more accurate than a $30 job.

I also ordered a second Dayton Audio iMM-6 calibrated mic.

When everything is here, I'll compare all 3 against each other, and post results.

Some of the volume levels y'all mention seem nuts. 95-100 dB(A) on-stage is considered acceptable? What then do you use for hearing protection?

I have my first real show coming up in a few weeks. Guess I'll be wearing shooting-grade earmuffs, as well as the strongest earplugs I can find. Not an ideal way to play, but I refuse to suffer any more hearing damage.